


Show You Off

by kenzz_95



Series: Trektober 2020 [19]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, High School Reunions, Jim playing Bones' hype man, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27104377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenzz_95/pseuds/kenzz_95
Summary: Jim is dragging a somewhat reluctant Bones to his 20 year high school reunion because Jim can tell there's a little part of his partner that actually wants to go. As it turns out, Bones sort of wants to show off to some jerk he knew when he was younger, and Jim, although unaware of this plan beforehand, is more than happy to roll with it.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Series: Trektober 2020 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948633
Comments: 10
Kudos: 128
Collections: Trektober 2020





	Show You Off

**Author's Note:**

> Trektober Day 19: Dress Uniforms
> 
> How that prompt turned into this I actually have no idea. Hope you enjoy!

Bones pulled at his collar uncomfortably while glaring out the windows of the shuttle they were on.

“I hate this,” he grumbled, shifting from pulling at his collar to fidgeting with the rank insignia on his shoulders.

“Oh really?” Jim asked, as sarcastically as he could muster, “If only you had mentioned that more than once or twice. A minute. For the past three weeks.”

“I resent you for this,” Bones said, crossing his arms over his chest now. He was fidgety tonight, as he always was when he was forced into his dress uniform. There were a lot of things that Bones truly hated, as opposed to the many things that Bones pretended to hate, and in terms of things that were completely innocuous, Starfleet dress uniforms were pretty much top of the list when it came to things Bones truly hated. Jim was on an ongoing mission to work some Pavlovian conditioning on his partner by rewarding him with insanly mind blowing sex every time he had to wear his dress uniform, but so far either Bones had yet to subconciously make the link between getting dressed up and phenomenal sex, or he just didn’t care. It probably didn’t help Jim’s plan that they had phenomenal sex...all the fucking time. Whatever.

“If it helps, you look, like, crazy fucking hot,” Jim lowered his voice as to not be overheard by anyone else on the shuttle. Bones rolled his eyes but he bit his lip, a telltale sign that he was fighting a smile.

“Yes, thank you, that means a hell of a lot coming from you, the horniest person in the sector.”

“You know what, you say that but tell me, Bones, when was the last time you told me no, huh?” Jim challenged. Bones said nothing, so Jim knew he’d won. He figured he’d gloat just a little. “I’m being serious. You know what they say, everyone loves a person in uniform.”

“We both wear uniforms every damn day of our lives. Get used to it.”

And that’s the thing was that Jim  _ was _ used to it. Sort of. Granted, he thought Bones looked dead sexy in his science blues, but Jim thought Bones looked dead sexy in  _ anything _ . And nothing. Sure, the gray was boring as hell and didn’t do much for anyone, but it was well tailored and looked nothing short of amazing on Bones’ broad shoulders, even accompanied by the scowl he always accessorized it with. Jim wondered idily if maybe he was failing at convincing Bones to associate dress uniforms with great sex but was succeeding at doing the same with himself. If so...oops. 

“Ya know, I bet that’d look even better on the floor of our hotel room,” Jim whispered.

“That’s a terrible line, darlin’,” Bones drawled, “And I wouldn’t count on that. You’re still in the doghouse for this whole situation.”

The thing was, Jim didn’t exactly feel like he was in the doghouse, but if it made Bones feel better to say that then he was going to let this one go.

“I can’t believe you’re making me go to my  _ high school reunion _ ,” Bones bitched, because it had been about five minutes since he’d mentioned the real topic at hand, the thing that was bothering him even more than the damn dress uniform, and apparently he had to make sure Jim hadn’t forgotten. The thing was, Jim was only dragging his partner to the event for Bones’ own sake, because Bones couldn’t get himself to admit that there was a little part of him that actually did want to go. Jim saw it, though. He spoke Bones pretty damn fluently at that point. They’d been friends for ten years and in a relationship for four, he knew that when Bones just would not stop mentioning the event from the moment they got the invite that there was a part of him that wanted to go. So Jim, dutiful partner he was, had taken the heat and demanded they go. Bones had put on a huge show of bitching about it, but had never fully put his foot down, just another indication that he did sort of want to go.

“Hey, cheer up, Bones!” Jim slung his arm over his partner’s shoulders and smiled at him, “We couldn’t miss something like this, not when it fell so perfectly during our leave like this. Besides, you only graduate high school 20 years ago once.”

“I’ve graduated a hell of a lot more important things than this.”

“Oh yes, I know, you were a perpetual student when you were in your 20s, yeah yeah.”

“Hey now, you talk a lot of shit for someone who  _ dropped out _ of high school.”

“I did not drop out! I tested out when I was 16!”

“Yes, which you did so you could  _ drop out of high school _ . Is that what this is about? You don’t get one of these yourself so you’re forcing me to allow you to live vicariously through mine?”

Jim crossed his arms over his chest at that, saying nothing. His missed adolescent experiences were a bit of a sore spot - not that he would have actually  _ wanted _ to do them but he wished all the trauma of his childhood hadn’t taken that away from him - and Bones knew that.

“Sorry,” Bones apologized gruffly, “I didn’t mean that.”

“It’s fine,” Jim waved a hand dismissively. It took a bit more than that to get him properly angry with Bones.

“No, it’s not. This ain’t your fault, not really. You’re not the one who decided my town would make a weirdly big deal out of these things, nor are you the one who decided to make this goddamn dinner party  _ formal dress _ .”

“It’s gonna be fine, Bones,” Jim insisted, because it had just struck him that Bones was  _ nervous _ about this. He wished he had recognized that tone and that tendency to lash out earlier so they could have a proper and private conversation about this. He knew that Bones wouldn’t ever get into feelings on the shuttle - he couldn’t blame him, he wouldn’t either - and the event was being held in a hotel within walking distance of the shuttleport, therefore affording them exactly zero time in private between here and there. So Jim would instead do something he excelled at and stay by his partner’s side all evening, keeping him company and acting as a sort of social safety net. Whatever Bones’ deeper feelings about this whole affair were, and Jim was positive there were many, they’d discuss that later. For now he was going to go to a stupid dinner party with everyone his partner went to high school with, he’d get to stare at Bones in his dress uniform when he was bored, and hopefully there was an open bar. This probably wouldn’t be too terrible. For him.

In terms of formal parties Jim had attended over the years, Bones’ high school reunion really wasn’t bad. For him. There was, thankfully, an open bar that Jim had to make sure Bones didn’t take too much advantage of because he knew his partner would be kicking himself later if he got drunk and made an idiot of himself at this event. The first few hours passed uneventfully as Bones introduced him to various people he’d known back in high school. He was more than content to sit back and listen to his partner talk to old friends, a treat to look at in that gray uniform and the new addition of a third insignia on his shoulders indicating his recent promotion to full commander at the completion of their five year mission. He thought a little about pressing Bones into the wall of their hotel room for the night, letting him know just what a sight he was in the uniform he hated so much. By this point he knew exactly just how much he could fantasize about what he wanted to do to his partner when they were alone without making anything awkward or missing a question directed at him, and he stayed just on the right side of that. Though he did rest his hand on the small of Bones’ back for most of the evening, a gesture he likely wouldn’t have gone for if this had actually been a Starfleet function as they both tended to keep their hands to themselves when they were working. But they weren’t working, despite the uniforms they’d opted for instead of suits because as it turns out Bones did not own a suit and refused to get one for the occasion. They weren’t the only ones in some sort of uniform, Jim spotted a detective and a member of earth’s marine defense force, but they were the only people here from Starfleet. He felt eyes on them, the two high ranking Starfleet officers in their midst, and typically that would have made Jim uncomfortable and Bones worse, but he actually found he got a bit of satisfaction at the looks of his partner’s former classmates, who were obviously thinking something along the lines of “look at Leo McCoy, he’s really made something out of himself.” So instead of flinching from the attention he never felt like he deserved, he basked in the light of Bones’ former classmates recognizing his accomplishments. Bones deserved that and more, even if the man in question did pull at his collar awkwardly if someone he was talking to got a little too wide eyed when he explained what he’d been up to lately.

It took Jim a while to realize it, but eventually he figured out that Bones was looking for someone in particular in the middle of this hotel ballroom filled with nearly everyone he’d gone to high school with and their plus ones. But whoever he was looking for, he couldn’t seem to find them. Jim couldn’t decide if Bones was annoyed or relieved by that. Maybe Bones couldn’t decide himself. All told, nearly everyone his partner had gone to high school with was here. That was a bit odd in Jim’s mind. Sure, he  _ had _ sort of dropped out of high school - he had tested out first, so he maintained that it didn’t count as properly dropping out, but he hadn’t really graduated - but he was a solid 99% sure nobody back in Iowa even approached giving this much of a shit about their high school reunions. It was probably an old south thing, Jim decided. People down here, especially in the small town about an hour away that Bones had grown up in, were very dedicated to tradition. The more ugly bits of that had faded over the years, and people, not just here but in general, no longer clung to the nasty parts of their histories, but small town Georgia was very much so still dedicated to The Way Things Had Always Been, even if they hadn’t actually always been that way and the significance of certain customs had increased with time. Jim figured this was probably one of those. At least the food was good.

Bones seemed to get along well with each of his former classmates they talked to, even though he didn’t really keep in touch with them anymore. Nobody was anything short cordial, at least until a while after dinner when the two of them were taking a bit of a break from all the socializing, leaning against a wall and trying some of the craft cocktails named for things that probably had significance to people who weren’t him. They weren’t fantastic, as specialty themed drinks tended to not be, but Jim felt that they’d be remiss not to give them a shot.

“Still self medicating, huh, doc?” 

Jim looked up from trying to get the little cherry out of his drink without putting his hands in his glass, and he was glad he did because he caught a hell of a nonverbal exchange between his partner and the man in a black suit who’d interrupted them. There was something not quite teasing in the man’s blue eyes, grayer than Jim’s own, but then he took in Bones’ full figure as he stood upright in his dress uniform and that expression was replaced with something akin to shock. As for Bones, he was looking mighty self-satisfied. There was a lot going on under the surface here, and Jim tried to catch his partner’s eyes but Bones wasn’t paying too much attention to him. Instead, he slid his arm around Jim’s waist and, self-satisfied glint still in his eyes, smiled at the man in front of him.

“Adam, this is my husband, Captain James Kirk. Darlin’, this is Adam Mallory.”

Bones did not elaborate on just who this Adam Mallory guy was to him, but Jim was a bit too busy being weirded out by that entire sentence to ask. He was lucky he was good at rolling with the punches and thinking on his feet, because several things there nearly made him gape like a fish. For one, nobody called him James, least of all Bones. He was pretty sure, in fact, that Bones had  _ never _ called him James and they’d known each other for nearly 10 years. He was Jim to everyone, unless it was one of those rare, tense encounters at work where he felt like his name needed a little more gravitas behind it when talking to some random aggressive alien. Secondly, Bones rarely called him “captain” when they were actually working, and without fail every time he’d used the title when they were off it was in obvious teasing. And thirdly...they weren’t married. Not even a little bit. They’d discussed it, over a year ago, and Jim had sorta liked the idea of being married to Bones at some point but Bones wasn’t 100% sure he wanted to do that whole song and dance again so they’d tabled the conversation until one of them had stronger feelings on it, which hadn’t yet happened. But, one thing was very clear from that very off introduction and it was that Bones wanted this guy to be impressed with him for whatever reason. Luckily, Jim knew how to play up his impressiveness when he needed to and, perhaps more importantly, he knew how to play up Bones’.

“Nice to meet you,” Jim plastered on his best diplomatic smile, “I see you had the honor of meeting my chief medical officer before I did.”

The man, Adam, just mouthed the words “chief medical officer” then cleared his throat, 

“So, McCoy, you really made CMO and married a Federation hero, huh?”

“Yeah, seems I did.” Bones looked so pleased with himself.

“I’ll do you one better, McCoy is a Federation hero himself, several times over,” Jim smiled, playing the part of the proud partner which, well, wasn’t exactly an act, “The Enterprise is real lucky to have him, and I’m not just saying that because I’m in love with him, he’s hands down the best doctor in the ‘fleet.”

“Jim…” Bones warned, but Jim caught his eye and that was clearly an act too, he was trying to play humble which he  _ was _ but Jim could tell from the look in his eyes that he didn’t exactly mind being hyped up right now, even though he normally would’ve dismissed such sentiments out of hand.

“So Leo “Panic Attack in a Shuttle” McCoy really goes toe-to-toe with crazy aliens?” Adam was talking to Jim but looking at Bones, and Jim really didn’t like the tone this guy was taking with his partner. Jim’s instinct was to tell this guy specifically where he could shove his condescending ass statements, or maybe just to punch him right between the eyes, but he knew Bones would hate that so he held his tongue.

“I’ll have you know aviophobia is a legitimate mental health condition and it ain’t nothin’ to be ashamed of. But for your information, I’ve worked through it. Couldn’t exactly run around the galaxy on the flagship if I couldn’t handle it, now could I?” Bones’ eyes were narrow as he spoke to Adam because he was always,  _ always _ more than capable of dealing with assholes on his own. There, in fact, were few that could serve a verbal lashing quite like one Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy when he really wanted to. What he’d just said was nothing. Jim had seen it and occasionally been on the receiving end of it. That didn’t stop Jim from wanting to stand between his partner and shit like this, though.

“Yeah, well, he doesn’t just handle it,” Jim wrapped an arm around Bones’ shoulders and grinned, “Oh, did you hear about the attack on the Yorktown starbase a couple years back? Just wait until I tell you about how McCoy was involved in  _ that _ one.”

Jim and Bones regaled Adam with several stories specially chosen by Jim because they made Bones look particularly good. Bones wasn’t about to outright brag about his own accomplishments, which Jim knew, but he was more than willing to jump in on stories already being told. Eventually, though, Jim grew tired of the way that Adam seemed constantly shocked that Bones was, like, a functional human being, and he could tell that despite Bones’ self satisfied grin this was wearing on him too, probably dredging up less than pleasant memories. So Jim did his duty as Bones’ partner and once again played the scapegoat.

“Well, I’m beat,” Jim faked a yawn and faked a story, “I had an early meeting with a bunch of admirals this morning and our shuttle out of here tomorrow is so early it’s practically tonight. I’m beat. Len, I think I’m gonna head back to the hotel, you can stay if you want.”

Calling Bones “Len” felt odd, but it didn’t feel right to directly address his partner by his last name, and as Bones had immediately made this a “full names and ranks” conversation, it didn’t seem like the best idea to bring Jim’s odd nickname for his partner into it.

Bones’ eyes were filled with pure relief during their brief moment of eye contact before he turned back to Adam,

“We should get going. It was good to see you again.”

Bones then tossed back the last of his drink, turned on his heel, and headed for the door.

Jim had just about a million questions as he took his partner’s hand and left the hotel, but it was like the full weight of the odd conversation they’d just had fully hit Bones the second they walked outside so Jim held his tongue for now.

“So, I’ve still got a good few hours in me if you do. I’m craving ice cream, know anywhere good around here?”

“There’s a pretty good frozen custard place not far from here.”   
Jim screwed up his face in mock disgust, “Please, I’m not interested in some weird southern take on custard.”

“Okay, you midwestern asshole,” Bones laughed and elbowed him in the side, “you’re not even from Wisconsin.”

“Don’t care. Frozen custard outside of the midwest is always a disappointment. What was your favorite place when you lived around here?”

“Well, there’s this place that serves peach ice cream so good it made me believe in heaven…”   
“Oh, count me in,” Jim grinned, “Lead the way, Georgia boy.”

Jim waited until Bones was several bites into sweet and refreshing peach ice cream to broach the subject of what had just happened.

“So,” Jim swallowed his latest bite, “Kind of a shame I missed my own wedding.”

Bones swallowed hard, tension immediately entering his frame again. Jim kicked him under the table, trying to communicate that he wasn’t really mad about it.

“It’s...complicated,” Bones finally said, “And incredibly stupid.”

Jim leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table, “I’ve got time. Who was this Adam guy to you anyways? Old friend? Ex-boyfriend? Former nemesis?”

“Uh, all three I suppose.”

“Interesting. So, what’s the story there?”

“He lived near me growin’ up. We were friends as kids, then I realized he was actually an asshole.”

“Okay, was that during or after the part where you dated him?”

“Both. And before as well.”

“Oof.”

“Yeah, well, I was 15 and had low self esteem. It was nothing serious, he was just a generic asshole and it just got worse when I dumped him. It ain’t a big deal, it’s been over 20 years.”

“Kinda felt like a big deal,” Jim pointed out. He felt like there was more to this story and Bones confirmed it by blushing and looking into his ice cream,

“Last time I saw him I was drunk off my ass at our 10 year reunion, fresh off the divorce, and he practically got off on how far Leo McCoy, former valedictorian and golden child, had fallen. He made a whole deal of it, took a vid of me drunk and ramblin’ about something or other and circulated it through our entire home town. Real juvenile shit.”

Jim grabbed Bones’ hand across the table and squeezed gently,

“Hey, well you showed him. He’s an asshole. I’ll go back there and punch him if you want. It’s been too long since I’ve been in a fight.”

“‘Too long’, my ass,” Bones rolled his eyes, squeezed Jim’s hand to let him know he was okay and then let go to take another bite of his ice cream.

“You should’ve told me, Bones.”

“I know, I shouldn’t’ve sprung that on you, I’m sorry. Honestly I hadn’t even thought about him in years but then we got that invitation right on top of my promotion and figured maybe I could…” Bones trailed off so Jim finished,

“You wanted to prove to him that you’d gotten yourself out of where you were 10 years ago, that you’d made something of yourself.”

“It’s real dumb shit. I know that. I’m almost 40, I shouldn’t even  _ care _ anymore. I didn’t. But that’s why I didn’t tell you. I knew it was stupid.”

“Hey, I love your stupid,” Jim smiled, “I’ll take your stupid any day.”

“How romantic,” Bones rolled his eyes.

“But I didn’t mean you should’ve told me because I’m mad or something. I just...if I’d known you wanted to show off to some asshole, I would’ve insisted we wear our medals!”

“Christ, kid,” Bones shook his head, but he was smiling. Jim would do anything for those little Bones smiles, the ones he got to see all the time now. Satisfied with the answer he’d received, Jim leaned back into his chair, 

“So, your husband, huh?”

Bones leaned back as well, this time with a groan,

“I knew you’d latch onto that one. Guess I just thought it sounded more official is all, it ain’t a big deal.”

“Okay,” Jim shrugged, “It does feel a bit significant, though. You know I’m okay with it, but are you still not looking to get married again?”

“I dunno, I figure it might not be so bad with the right person.” Bones’ soft smile turned into something a bit more like a smirk when he finished with, “But the only person I can really find is some mouthy, reckless starship captain.”

“Hey,” Jim laughed, “Watch who you’re calling mouthy!”

Bones laughed as well then sighed, “Thanks for tonight, Jim. It means a lot. I love you.”

“Anytime, Bones. I love you too.” he took a final bite of his ice cream then stood up, “Let’s get out of here. I’ve got some ideas once we get back to the hotel room.”

“Of course you do, you goddamn ingrate,” Bones rolled his eyes, taking his hand as they headed back onto the dark Atlanta streets again. “You have done this to yourself, and I do not feel bad for you.”

“Okay, not even trying to be a smartass here but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh, sure you don’t. Darlin’, I’m not an idiot. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you trying to condition me into not hating this goddamn uniform by trying to get me to associate it with phenomenal sex, and don’t think I’m not aware that there’s only one of us that plan’s actually been workin’ on and it sure as hell ain’t me.”

Bones really was the only one who could make Jim lose all his words entirely. He gaped for a moment, so his partner kept going,

“You have inadvertently conditioned yourself into being wildly turned on by this damn uniform. I have a PhD in psychology, Jim, I don’t know how you didn’t think I’d noticed what you were doing.”

When Bones finished, all Jim could think of to say was,

“I hate when you’re right.”

Bones rolled his eyes and laughed a little, “I know ya do. Luckily for you, I’ll humor this failing plan of yours. It ain’t gonna get me to not hate this goddamn uniform, but if you want to show me all the dirty ideas you were coming up with that whole party then I’ll allow it.”

“Oh, you’re so selfless, they should give you a statue.”

“Thank you, darlin’. Just outta curiosity, any of these plans of yours involve you on your knees in any way?”

“Oh, fuck yes. Any chance I can convince you to leave the jacket on?”

“Hell no,” Bones laughed, elbowing him in the ribs for his trouble, “Nice try, though.”

“Worth a shot,” Jim agreed, leaning into Bones’ side as they walked. “Love you, Bones.”

Bones leaned over to plant a kiss on Jim’s head as they walked, “Love you too, Jim. Thanks again.”

“Hey,” Jim shrugged, “If you can’t use your partner to help you show up the asshole you knew in high school, then what’s even the point of this relationship?”

He received another elbow to his ribs for his trouble. He found that, just like everything always was with Bones, it was worth it.


End file.
